Johann Georg Geißelbrecht

Johann Georg Geißelbrecht , also Geisselbrecht (* 1762 in Hanau ; † January 15, 1826 in Weinheim ), was a German puppeteer , puppet theater operator and mechanic . He is considered to be one of the most important representatives of his field for the late 18th and early 19th centuries .

Geißelbrecht was the son of the master shoemaker Johann Peter Geißelbrecht and his wife Anna Catharina (née Schneider). It can be assumed that Geißelbrecht also originally learned the shoemaking trade. In doing so, he was likely to have gained initial knowledge of the handling of materials such as leather , wood and fabric , which were also used for the production of marionettes and other play dolls. This manufacturing skills he needs to gradually self-taught have expanded. It is not known exactly whether he acquired the actual audition with marionettes and other mechanical puppets on his own or was initiated in the subject by other puppeteers. Likewise, it has not yet been possible to clarify exactly when Geißelbrecht started to pursue marionette and stage play full-time, although the years around 1790 are considered likely.

Geißelbrechts puppet theater acted in the usual way of traveling stages . His family formed the core of his troop . However, additional players and assistants were also regularly employed, who became increasingly indispensable with the steady increase in success and the expansion of the repertoire . The steadily expanding repertoire including personal pieces , but above all the great popularity that Geißelbrecht's performances received from the audience, enabled his stage to stay in one place for several weeks. Over time, the mechanic was able to expand his sphere of activity to almost the entire German-speaking area. The regional focus of the demonstrations was in southern Germany , in the Rhineland , in Mecklenburg , Prussia and in what is now Schleswig-Holstein . The supra-regional demand for the ensemble's art of playing , above all for that of Geißelbrecht himself, led the troupe to Denmark , Poland and even Russia, among other places .

A number of records, schedules and theater slips of Geißelbrecht's activities have been preserved. Today, 75 puppet plays, 16 character pieces, 15 shadow plays and 5 so-called fireworks , in which transparent pictures with changing lighting were breathed into life, can still be assigned to the repertoire of his stage . Geißelbrecht often orientated himself on already known literary or mythological material, which he worked out for the requirements of a stage performance. The best known then as now and probably the most popular with contemporary audiences was his puppet play Doctor Faust . For this he probably used the popular Faust - Volksbuch and probably also long-standing puppet show versions of the Faust material as the main models. Since his notes have been preserved, the Geißelbrecht puppet show is occasionally staged by Doctor Faust again today. In addition, it often served as a guide for later versions of the Faust puppet show; for example for those of Karl Simrock or for those with whom it was to be revived after its temporary disappearance from the puppet theaters in the 20th century .

It is certain that among Geißelbrecht's spectators and among his no longer contemporary admirers there were also some literary enthusiasts who were inspired by his pieces and his art of playing. Such a power of inspiration has been proven , for example, in the creation of Theodor Storm's novella Pole Poppenspäler .

literature

• Johannes Richter: Mechanic Geißelbrecht - traveling comedians in the 19th century. Pole Poppenspäler's ancestors in Güstrow . In: Bull and Griffin. Sheets on the cultural and regional history in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Vol. 1, Schwerin 1991, pp. 70-77

• Gerd Eversberg : The mechanic Georg Geißelbrecht. On the history of a wandering puppet theater around 1800 . In: Small writings of the society for theater history. Issue 34/35: Traveling stage. Theater art as a traveling trade. Dr. Herbert A. Frenzel on his 80th birthday on December 20, 1988. Berlin 1988, pp. 105–128

• Gerd Eversberg: Geißelbrechts "Faust". Based on the handwriting of Georg Geisselbrecht . In: Mahal, Günther (ed.): "... from all corners ...". Faust around 1775, presentations and summaries of the discussions of the scientific symposium on 25./26. September 1999 in Knittlingen. Knittlingen 1999, pp. 161-206

Web links

• Information on biography, occupation and connection with Storms Pole Poppenspäler
• Further information on biography, occupation and the connection with Storms Pole Poppenspäler